Our Journey with Ptosis: Part II

If you're an old-time reader of our blog, you may have noticed that I haven't written in a few days. I came out and told everyone about Yoav's eye condition called congenital ptosis. Since then, I've found it hard to focus because I've been doing a lot of research. A LOT of research. So has Craig. We're now totally versed in this eye condition and it's a little scary.

I like visiting Daddy at work ... for the bean bag chairs.

We met with his ophthalmologist yesterday and it didn't take her long to recommend surgery. What frightened me was how urgent she made it all sound.

I'm not sure what you know about Israel but the country kind of shuts down during Passover. It's hard to make medical appointments during the holiday because it's a favorite vacation period.

This means we may not hear back from a surgeon for about two weeks. The ophthalmologist's recommendation was for him to have surgery within the next four to five weeks. It sounds REALLY fast - I know. Part of me was relieved when she recommended surgery. When we got home, we started notifying our family about Yoav's upcoming surgery. For the most part, we heard a lot of positive support. After all, we ARE talking about my kid's eye sight. I heard some recommendations for a second opinion but we don't feel that's necessary. Pediatric ophthalmologists are hard to find here and we went to one of the best.

As I started doing more research on the types of surgeries offered for ptosis, then I became scared. The surgery isn't so scary - it's the recovery that's tough. Yoav will walk around with stitches around his eye and a few puncture marks for a few months. It'll look like we're unfit parents - thankfully I could give two sh*ts about what people think. Some of our neighbors know what's going on, so they won't likely call the Israeli version of CPS.

Not Yoav. Just a tired puppy.

I'm also nervous because my Hebrew is terrible. I am not a fan of being judged by doctors who don't understand that when it comes to medical information, I prefer they speak English. Yesterday, I missed some information because the doctor was speaking to Craig in Hebrew. I just sat there with a blank look on my face. To me, there is nothing scarier than having a medical issue occur in a foreign country where you're not fluent in the language.

So, I guess it's not the surgery that scares me. It's the stuff that revolves around the surgery that frightens me. I know Yoav will be OK and I know this is for the best but I'm his Ima (mom) and my job is to worry about him in all kinds of ways.

I'm going to do my best to document Yoav's surgery, post op, recovery and over-all journey. Thanks to another great blogger, I found a ptosis Yahoo group that may come in handy. There are some great blogs out there that document a child's journey with ptosis - I found this blog on congenital ptosis and frontalis sling surgery VERY helpful!

Wish us luck!